1.2 Coordonnées des personnes-ressources et des institutions impliquées dans l'évaluation et la documentation de la Technologie

Nom du projet qui a facilité la documentation/ l'évaluation de la Technologie (si pertinent)

Book project: where the land is greener - Case Studies and Analysis of Soil and Water Conservation Initiatives Worldwide (where the land is greener)

Nom du ou des institutions qui ont facilité la documentation/ l'évaluation de la Technologie (si pertinent)

Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries of Uganda (MAAIF) - Ouganda

1.3 Conditions relatives à l'utilisation par WOCAT des données documentées

Quand les données ont-elles été compilées (sur le terrain)?

22/10/1998

Le compilateur et la(les) personne(s) ressource(s) acceptent les conditions relatives à l'utilisation par WOCAT des données documentées:

Oui

1.5 Référence au(x) questionnaire(s) sur les Approches de GDT

2.1 Courte description de la Technologie

Définition de la Technologie:

Weeds and crop residues laid in bands across the slope of annual crop fields to conserve soil and water, and to incorporate organic matter into the soil after decomposition.

2.2 Description détaillée de la Technologie

Description:

Trash lines of organic material across the slope constitute a traditional land husbandry practice in south-west Uganda. These traditional, ‘unimproved’, trash lines are beneficial, but even better is an improved version designed through Participatory Technology Development (PTD). Improved trash lines are smaller, closer spaced, and of longer duration than the traditional type. They are more effective in controlling runoff and maintaining soil fertility.
All trash lines (improved and traditional) are composed of cereal stover (straw) and weeds that are collected during primary cultivation (hand hoeing), and heaped in strips along the approximate contour. Creeping grasses should not be used in trash lines: they can alternatively be decomposed in bundles, and then used as mulch in nearby banana plantations. Trash lines are used in hillside fields where annual crops, including sorghum, finger millet, beans and peas, are grown. The recommended spacing between the improved trash lines is 5-10 m, depending
on the slope: the steeper the closer. The amount of material available determines the cross section of each trash line (typically ±0.5 m wide and ±0.3 m high). Improved trash lines are left in place for four seasons (there are two seasons a year in Kabale) before they are dug into the soil. Much of the material used has, by this time, decomposed or been eaten by termites. Through incorporation into the topsoil, they improve soil fertility acting effectively as ‘mobile compost strips’. New trash lines are then established between the sites of the former lines. Upkeep comprises removal of weeds that sprout within the lines - before they set seed - and the addition of more trash during each new cultivation and weeding cycle.
Improved trash lines are multipurpose in retarding dispersed runoff while, as discussed, maintaining soil fertility. They are a low-cost option for soil and water conservation. However, they need to be complemented by other measures on the steeper slopes. The climate in this part of Uganda is subhumid, with a bimodal rainfall regime, and average annual rainfall of around 800 mm. Hill tops are used for grazing, the lower slopes are cultivated with annual crops (where the trash lines are found) and the valleys are dedicated to bananas and other cash crops. Families are large: 8-10 persons, and the population density is high, at nearly 200 persons/km2.

2.3 Photos de la Technologie

2.5 Pays/ région/ lieux où la Technologie a été appliquée et qui sont couverts par cette évaluation

2.6 Date de mise en œuvre de la Technologie

Si l'année précise est inconnue, indiquez la date approximative: :

• il y a plus de 50 ans (technologie traditionnelle)

2.7 Introduction de la Technologie

Spécifiez comment la Technologie a été introduite: :

• dans le cadre d'un système traditionnel (> 50 ans)

3.1 Principal(aux) objectif(s) de la Technologie

• améliorer la production
• réduire, prévenir, restaurer les terres dégradées
• s'adapter au changement et aux extrêmes climatiques et à leurs impacts

3.2 Type(s) actuel(s) d'utilisation des terres, là où la Technologie est appliquée

Commentaires:

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): Continuous cultivation of annual crops on slopes prone to erosion, with little or no restitution of fertility through manures
or fertilizers.

Major land use problems (land users’ perception): continous cultivation without fallow due to small sizes of farms

3.3 Informations complémentaires sur l'utilisation des terres

Approvisionnement en eau des terres sur lesquelles est appliquée la Technologie:

• pluvial

Nombre de période de croissance par an: :

• 2

Précisez:

Longest growing period in days: 180 Longest growing period from month to month: Feb - Jul Second longest growing period in days: 120 Second longest growing period from month to month: Sep - Jan

3.4 Groupe de GDT auquel appartient la Technologie

• Amélioration de la couverture végétale/ du sol
• mesures en travers de la pente
• récupération/ collecte de l'eau

3.5 Diffusion de la Technologie

Spécifiez la diffusion de la Technologie:

• répartie uniformément sur une zone

Si la Technologie est uniformément répartie sur une zone, indiquez la superficie couverte approximative:

• 0,1-1 km2

Commentaires:

Total area covered by the SLM Technology is 0.25 km2.

it is an indeginous technology. Widely used in various fields and at different slopes.

3.6 Mesures de GDT constituant la Technologie

3.7 Principaux types de dégradation des terres traités par la Technologie

Commentaires:

Main type of degradation addressed: Wt: loss of topsoil / surface erosion, Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content

Main causes of degradation: other human induced causes (specify) (lack of communication), education, access to knowledge and support services (lack of spread of knowledge)

3.8 Prévention, réduction de la dégradation ou réhabilitation des terres dégradées

Spécifiez l'objectif de la Technologie au regard de la dégradation des terres:

• prévenir la dégradation des terres
• réduire la dégradation des terres

Commentaires:

Main goals: mitigation / reduction of land degradation

Secondary goals: prevention of land degradation

4.1 Dessin technique de la Technologie

4.2 Spécification/ explications techniques du dessin technique

Trash lines without crops (left)
and with crops (beans; right).
The insert shows the stages of the technology: regularly spaced trash lines are kept place for four seasons (1); then decompose over time and are incorporated into the soil (2); and finally new trash lines are placed between the previous strips (3).

Technical knowledge required for field staff / advisors: low

Technical knowledge required for land users: low

Main technical functions: control of dispersed runoff: impede / retard, increase of infiltration, increase in soil fertility

Secondary technical functions: control of dispersed runoff: retain / trap, increase in organic matter, improvement of soil structure, sediment harvesting

Agronomic measure: mulching, trash lines
Material/ species: weed residue, sorghum
Remarks: along contour

4.3 Informations générales sur le calcul des intrants et des coûts

autre/ monnaie nationale (précisez):

Uganda Shillings

Indiquer le taux de change du dollars en monnaie locale (si pertinent): 1 USD= :

1000,0

4.5 Coûts et intrants nécessaires à la mise en place

	Spécifiez les intrants	Unité	Quantité	Coûts par unité	Coût total par intrant	% des coût supporté par les exploitants des terres
Main d'œuvre	Labour	ha	1,0	25,0	25,0	100,0
Equipements	Tools	ha	1,0	5,0	5,0	100,0
Coût total de mise en place de la Technologie					30,0

Commentaires:

Duration of establishment phase: 36 month(s)

4.6 Activités d'entretien/ récurrentes

	Activité	Type de mesures	Calendrier/ fréquence
1.	During land cultivation, existing (old) trash lines are dug. 2. New trash lines are then created exactly between the (cross-slope)	Agronomique	Dry season / each cropping season
2.	The size of the trash lines depends on the amount of trash available,	Agronomique	Dry season
3.	Weeds are added to the trash lines, and, in preparation for the second	Agronomique	Second season
4.	Trash lines are kept free of growing weeds and built up with more	Agronomique	Third and fourth seasons
5.	Trash lines are kept free of growing weeds and built up with moretrash. Full cycle for improved trash lines: 4 seasons (2 years)	Agronomique

4.7 Coûts et intrants nécessaires aux activités d'entretien/ récurrentes (par an)

Commentaires:

Machinery/ tools: hand hoe

These figures are approximate, representing a typical situation with 1,500 running metres of improved trash lines, per hectare, at a spacing of 7 m apart on a 10% slope. The 1st year (first and second seasons) involves more work than the
2nd year (third and fourth seasons): the figure given is an annual average of all work associated with trash lines. The costs of the traditional, larger and wider spaced trash lines are about 50% more than these given above - because trash has to be carried further.

4.8 Facteurs les plus importants affectant les coûts

Décrivez les facteurs les plus importants affectant les coûts :

Labour, need to collect and heap the trashlines material in lines above the slope

5.1 Climat

5.2 Topographie

Commentaires et précisions supplémentaires sur la topographie:

Slopes on average: Also rolling and hilling (both ranked 2)

5.3 Sols

Si disponible, joignez une description complète du sol ou précisez les informations disponibles, par ex., type de sol, pH/ acidité du sol, capacité d'échange cationique, azote, salinité, etc.

Soil texture: Medium (the trash material modifies the organic matter content of the areas applied)
Soil fertility: Medium (ranked 1) and low (ranked 2)
Soil drainage/infiltration: Medium
Soil water storage capacity: Low (ranked 1) and medium (ranked 2)

5.6 Caractéristiques des exploitants des terres appliquant la Technologie

Indiquez toute autre caractéristique pertinente des exploitants des terres:

1% of the land users are very rich and own 5% of the land.
5% of the land users are rich and own 10% of the land.
24% of the land users are average wealthy and own 50% of the land.
55% of the land users are poor and own 25% of the land.

Off-farm income specification: some farmers are involved in trade with nearby Rwanda and there are also a number of families who receive remittances from family members who work in Kabale or as far away as Kampala

5.7 Superficie moyenne des terres détenues ou louées par les exploitants appliquant la Technologie

5.8 Propriété foncière, droits d’utilisation des terres et de l'eau

Propriété foncière:

• individu, sans titre de propriété

Droits d’utilisation des terres:

• communautaire (organisé)
• individuel

6.1 Impacts sur site que la Technologie a montrés

Impacts socio-économiques

Production

Revenus et coûts

Autres impacts socio-économiques

Impacts socioculturels

Impacts écologiques

Cycle de l'eau/ ruissellement

Sols

6.2 Impacts hors site que la Technologie a montrés

6.4 Analyse coûts-bénéfices

Quels sont les bénéfices comparativement aux coûts d'entretien récurrents (du point de vue des exploitants des terres)?

6.5 Adoption de la Technologie

Commentaires:

30 land user families have adopted the Technology without any external material support

Comments on spontaneous adoption: estimates

There is a moderate trend towards spontaneous adoption of the Technology

Comments on adoption trend: the technology is indeginous. There is some evidence of growing spontaneous adoption.

6.7 Points forts/ avantages/ possibilités de la Technologie

Points forts/ avantages/ possibilités du point de vue de l'exploitant des terres
Improved trash lines have small but significant advantages over the traditional trash lines (which are beneficial themselves) in terms of (a) less labour (b) improved crop performance How can they be sustained / enhanced? Continue with farmer-to-farmer visits for this to be explained.

Points forts/ avantages/ possibilités du point de vue du compilateur ou d'une autre personne ressource clé
The technology is very simple and uses locally available material. It is easy to understand, being a modification of an existing tradition How can they be sustained / enhanced? Continue with farmer-to-farmer visits for first hand learning.
Multiple ecological and SWC benefits: improves soil fertility, reduces erosion, increases infiltration etc How can they be sustained / enhanced? Continue to encourage adoption of (and further farmer experimentation with) the improved trash lines.

6.8 Faiblesses/ inconvénients/ risques de la Technologie et moyens de les surmonter

Faiblesses/ inconvénients/ risques du point de vue de l’exploitant des terres	Comment peuvent-ils être surmontés?
Source of weeds	Pull out weeds before they set seed and don’t use stoloniferous or rhizome-forming (creeping) grasses in trash lines (see picture).
trash line harbours pest and diseases	use entirely dry grass or material

Faiblesses/ inconvénients/ risques du point de vue du compilateur ou d'une autre personne ressource clé	Comment peuvent-ils être surmontés?
Where land is limiting, agricultural land which would be used, is lost	uses it as a crop rotation basis
The trash lines are not enough on their own to control erosion on the steeper slopes	Introduce/promote supplementary structural remedies such as earth bunds.
Competition for crop residues which have an alternative use as livestock fodder and, especially, mulch in banana plantations	Grow hedgerows of shrubs/grasses to increase availability of material for fodder, trash lines and mulching.

7.2 Références des publications disponibles

Titre, auteur, année, ISBN:

Briggs SR et al. Livelihoods in Kamwezi, Kabale District, Uganda.. 1998.

Disponible à partir d'où? Coût?

Silsoe Research Institute, UK

Titre, auteur, année, ISBN:

Mutunga K and Critchley W. Farmer’s initiatives in land husbandry Technical Report No 27. 2001.

Disponible à partir d'où? Coût?

Regional Land Management Unit, Nairobi, Kenya

Titre, auteur, année, ISBN:

Critchley W and Mutunga K .Local innovation in a global context: documenting farmer initiatives in land husbandry through WOCAT Land Degradation and Development (14) pp 143–162. 2003.